


Strange Times Make for Stranger Bedfellows

by summermanticore



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Eventual Smut, M/M, Roommates, Sexual Tension, kuroro-oito sibling theory
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-07
Updated: 2020-12-21
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:28:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,481
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27929770
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/summermanticore/pseuds/summermanticore
Summary: Kurapika figured that being roommates with Kuroro, while one of the last things he'd want to do, was better than having nowhere to live.He just hadn't expected that the hardest thing about living with Kuroro would be dealing with his friends.
Relationships: Kurapika/Kuroro Lucifer | Chrollo Lucifer
Comments: 18
Kudos: 137





	1. Chapter One

The first time that Kurapika met one of Kuroro's friends, it had barely been a week since he had grudgingly moved in.

Instead of being met with the expected delivery man, the person on the other side of the door looked scraggly in his loose-fitting robe and top knot. Although, Kurapika's attention was much more drawn to the scowl marring his face.

Before Kurapika could get out a word, the man asked bluntly, "who are you?"

Kurapika's eyed narrowed while he kept his grip on the door, ready to shut it at a moment's notice.

"Who are you?" Kurapika echoed the same question. It felt fair considering it was his door that was just knocked on.

"Very funny," the man said and was sounding more unimpressed by the second. "I meant what are you doing here?"

Not quite certain how to answer that, Kurapika said plainly, "I live here."

"No you don't," he replied with such a certainty that it almost felt ridiculous to hear.

Starting to press the door shut, he said, "I think you have the wrong place."

"Nobunaga, I'd appreciate it if you would stop accosting my roommate," Kurapika heard just as he was about to shut the door.

He hadn't even been aware that Kuroro was in the apartment this evening. He had a startling habit of popping up behind Kurapika when he hadn't heard his footsteps like a ghost. Well, 'ghost' certainly described the way Kuroro moved around the apartment. As far as Kurapika could tell, Kuroro spent his evenings out and only came back to the apartment during the day to sleep.

Regardless of what Kurapika had assumed, that was certainly Kuroro leaning out from the bedroom on the west side of the apartment.

"Yeah 'roommate'," the man, Nobunaga apparently, muttered loud enough for him to still hear.

Kurapika immediately opened his mouth, ready to snap at him, but Kuroro was already walking towards the door and prepared to interject.

"How about I walk you out?" Kuroro offered Nobunaga simply enough.

Any of that sharp tension in Nobunaga's shoulders receded in an instant in a way that almost looked comical to Kurapika. He didn't say anything else, merely took a step back so that Kuroro could follow him out into the hallway of the apartment complex.

He felt uncomfortable watching them from the door as they headed out. So instead, he headed back into the kitchen to fetch the instant coffee that he kept on top of the fridge.

He couldn't exactly blame himself for being curious. In the few brief and frustrating conversations that they'd had, Kuroro had never mentioned any of his friends. In fact, in the week since he'd moved in, he'd seen Kuroro less than he had in their few shared classes as apart of their degrees.

Kuroro had seemed relatively eager, or as eager as his aloof smile could show when he'd offered Kurapika a room.

After he'd finished staring, Kurapika had only said, "but you hate me."

And Kuroro had looked at him with someone that could almost be called confusion when he said, "no I don't."

Kurapika had thought it had been a joke at first. There was no way that the man who had apparently made it a priority to contradict Kurapika at every ethics lecture would ask him to move in with him.

But lo and behold, Kuroro's apartment had a second room when seemingly every other apartment in Yorknew city was unavailable. Kurapika had figured that putting up with Kuroro was better than sleeping on the street.

By the time Kuroro had returned, Kurapika had just finished preparing his coffee and was about to return to his room. He almost missed Kuorro entirely, an easy mistake when the man seemed to move as silently as oil through water. 

"Who was he?" Kurapika couldn't help but ask, surprising himself.

"A friend of mine," Kuroro answered, not slowing his pace as he headed back to his room, "who else would he be?"

The answer felt lackluster but he was uncertain of what he had actually expected in the first place.

"Good point," Kurapika said although his own words tasted hollow in his mouth.

-

When you're offered a deal that sounds far too good to be true, you should typically turn it down. Kurapika knew that and Leorio had enjoyed drilling that maxim into his head when he'd told him about Kuroro's offer last week.

"Seventy-thirty split?" Leorio had repeated over and over. "Like seven-zero percent he pays and three-zero percent you pay for rent?"

Kurapika had nodded hesitantly, "and he wants me to feed his fish when he's out."

"You're going to wake up in an ice bath missing a kidney," he had told him.

"He doesn't really strike me as an ice-bath-preparing-kidney-stealer," Kurapika muttered.

Still, Kuroro certainly didn't strike him as the saintly type either despite the impossibly good offer.

"But you  _ hate _ him," Leorio groaned, "whenever I ask you about classes you just end up grumbling about him."

That should've been the end of the offer but Kurapika hadn't found a better option since he'd arrived in Yorknew. Leorio had offered him a room at his apartment on the other side of the city but Kurapika wasn't overly excited by the thought of having to catch a two-hour train to and from campus.

Kuroro had even proved himself to be a decent roommate. He didn't steal Kurapika's food from the fridge, he did his share of the cleaning and didn't play obnoxiously loud music past midnight. Even better, their schedules rarely overlapped so they rarely had repeats of the debates that had been kept to their ethics class.

Kurapika might have even admitted that he wasn't an awful roommate, if not for his friends.

The second time that Kurapika ran into Kuroro's friends, he was painfully starting an assignment and all he had wanted to do was stay in his room.

"Oh, you're the new dude," was the first thing Kurapika heard as he opened the door.

He was greeted with the sight of two people dressed criminally bright. The woman's hair matched her pink leg warmers along with the lining of her dress. Although, the expression on her face didn't match her bright colour scheme at all.

"Are you going to let us in or what?" She continued to ask.

The man next to her gave an easy laugh and rested a hand on her shoulder which she immediately smacked away.

"Nice to meet you Kurapika," he chirped, "you can call me Shalnark and this angelic lady next to me is Machi."

"Nice to meet you," she repeated back dryly while she continued to push on the door, "is the boss in?"

Shalnark quickly added, "she means Kuroro."

Glancing back into the apartment Kurapika said, "I haven't seen him in a day or two so I assumed he was staying at someone else's."

"Just our luck," Machi muttered like it was Kurapika's fault personally, "can you at least drop that iron grip on the door?"

Kurapika masked a wince, "look I don't know you-"

"Ah it's fine," Shalnark interrupted, the easy smile still in place. "Kuroro's always been fine with us coming over even if he's out, we won't cause you any trouble."

Kurapika still hesitated to let them in without having anyone vouch for them. Although, he probably wouldn't have taken Kuroro's confirmation as a good sign.

Apparently, Machi wasn't interested in waiting for an answer because she pushed against the door until he had to take a step back into the apartment. Shalnark and her took the opportunity to squeeze into the room, immediately heading to the living room to take a seat on the couch.

Kurapika wasn't exactly sure what to do when the other two were making themselves at home. He probably should've gone to the decency of getting them a drink but he was itching to return to his work.

Kuroro's friends, Kuroro's problem he figured.

"I've got something to do, so I'll just be in here," Kurapika said weakly as he headed back into his room.

"Mhm gotcha," Shalnark hummed noncommittedly as he alternated through the different channels on the tv.

Kurapika regretted the decision of letting them in after about five minutes. Kuroro's friends apparently loved watching reality tv at full volume while giving equally loud running commentary of what they were watching. Even the headphones that he kept couldn't block out the sounds of laughter from the other room.

When they finally left hours later, Kurapika found the couch covered in crumbs and sticky soft drink had been spilt over the coffee table. In the fridge, the box of chocolates that Alluka had given him was now missing half of its contents. The dishes cluttering the kitchen counter made Kurapika wince at the mess of food that had been left on them. Lastly, on the floor were shattered pieces of one of Kuroro's mugs that Kurapika couldn't comprehend someone not picking up.

He almost considered leaving it for Kuroro to clean up considering it was his friends. On the other hand, Kurapika wasn't looking to piss him off and lose the only free room in Yorknew.

With a sigh, Kurapika reached for a dustpan.

-

Cleaning up the mess proved to be a good idea when Kuroro still hadn't come back after another day. Kurapika might have guessed that he had come by while he was out or asleep but the food in the fridge went untouched along with the excessive amount of bathroom amenities which Kuroro owned.

By now, he figured that there was somewhere else that Kuroro was staying, maybe a family member or partner. Either that or he was perpetually busy with work.

It was almost a relief that Kurapika didn't see Kuroro either in their overlapping philosophy electives. Since that first class, Kuroro had taken every opportunity to argue with him. Kurapika could say that one plus one equals two and Kuroro would pull a grin onto his face before he'd start to argue with him.

The man was all too happy to fight him on every front, sometimes taking completely ridiculous positions just to debate with him. He took opportunities to point out the shortcomings of Kurapika's arguments like he was paid to do it.

Infuriating, smug, stubborn and at least a dozen other more vulgar words. That was how he saw Kuroro.

When the pencil in his hands was about to snap, a knock at the door stole Kurapika's attention.

"If you're looking for Kuroro," Kurapika started to say, eager not to have a repeat of yesterday, "he's not here."

"I wasn't expecting him to be," the woman at the door told him, "I was actually looking for you."

He brushed some of the hair out of his face, trying to look more presentable. In her suit, she looked too formal to be a friend dropping by and Kurapika berated silently himself for not noticing that. She was far more likely to be part of the apartment complex's administration.

With a quick breath, Kurapika said, "I'm sorry I was expecting my roommate's friends."

"You were?" She asked, her head tilting. "I'm sorry that we left such a poor impression on you then."

Ah, so then she was one of Kuroro's friends.

Not quite sure how to answer he said, "I'm sorry, I was-"

"Actually," she interrupted him smoothly, "name is Pakunoda. I'm here because of the poor impression. I apologise for the disruption my friends made the other day."

"It wasn't really an issue," Kurapika said with a wave of his hand.

Pakunoda didn't seem to be listening, instead, she had begun to look through the inside pockets of her suit jacket. After a moment, she withdrew a wallet and began to thumb through it, drawing dollar bills into her hand as Kurapika watched.

"Here," she said bluntly and lifted his hand to fit a handful of bills into it. "For the cleaning services and for the disruption."

"This is really unnecessary-" Kurapika said and tried to push the bills back into her hand but she was already taking a step back and putting her wallet away.

"Kuroro should be back by tomorrow night," Pakunoda told him, "it was nice meeting you Kurapika."

Still trying to fathom exactly what had just happened as she headed back towards the elevator, Kurapika stared at the heavy stack in his hand. He wasn't counting for an exact amount but it was certainly enough for a month of his share of the rent, maybe another half month on top of that.

'Weird' was the only word Kurapika could use to summarise the encounter.

-

True to Pakunoda's word, Kuroro did return the following night where Kurapika found him in the kitchen sipping from a mug.

"Ah, good evening Kurapika," he greeted him as if he hadn't been missing for four days now.

Opening the fridge, Kurapika dug around for the leftover Thai as he said, "I was wondering when you were going to turn up."

"You were?" He asked, amusement plain as day. "I suppose I was gone for a bit longer than I expected."

"Work or something keeping you busy?" Kurapika asked, partly curious and partly keeping up the small talk as he reheated his food.

With a grin that was made for an inside joke Kuroro said, "or something, a healthy mix of business and pleasure."

Did that mean work and a partner then? He knew that fishing Kuroro for answers would just grow the smug look on his face while Kurapika would be left grinding his teeth.

"I'll try to give you a better idea of when I'll be out," Kuroro continued to say.

Kurapika gave a shrug, "it wasn't like I was a kicked puppy waiting around."

"Wouldn't that be a sight for sore eyes?"

Kurapika felt his eyes roll automatically and chose to ignore that comment. Instead, he fetched a fork from one of the drawers and paused the microwave just before the alarm set off.

"At least your pet fish made for much more polite company," he murmured.

"They can't even talk."

"Something that you could learn from," he added.

Kuroro spared him a smile from behind his mug, hardly taking any of Kurapika's to heart. Kurapika hadn't sewn any heat or glares into his words for them to be taken seriously after all. Then again, Kuroro never seemed to take anything that Kurapika said seriously.

"I met some more of your friends," Kurapika brought up just as an uncomfortable silence was about to set in.

With a raised brow he asked, "oh? Which ones?"

"They said their names were Shalnark and Machi."

"I'm sure that was eventful for you," Kuroro murmured into his mug, his smile widening into a grin. "Did they break anything?"

With a nod, he answered, "you'll have to live with one less mug."

Not as if that would be a problem. Kuroro had the largest collection of mugs that Kurapika had ever seen. His kitchen cabinets were practically bursting with themed mugs. Judging by the slogans decorated on them in different languages, they looked like they'd been picked up as travel mementos. The only thing gaudier than the mugs were the drinks he filled them with, sickeningly sweet warm drinks met with whip cream that made Kurapika gag to even look at.

"Just a mug?" Kuroro asked surprised. "That must be a record for them."

"Do they usually come over when you're out?" He asked.

He tapped his fingers on his mug for a moment with a hum before he said, "it happens every now and then, don't think too much about it."

That was going to be impossible. He'd really rather not spend his weekends playing maid for Kuroro and his friends.

"If it happens again-"

"If it does happen again," Kuroro interrupted him, "call in a cleaning service and I'll cover it."

Kurapika frowned but didn't say anything more. Even if he didn't like it, this place had been Kuroro's apartment first and Kurapika had known that he wasn't going to like everything about moving in here.

So Kurapika bit down what he wanted to say and settled for stabbing a piece of beef in his bowl instead.

"Any other friends I should watch out for?" Kurapika asked him.

He wasn't prepared to bring up Pakunoda unless Kuroro did it himself first. The money she'd given him felt unnecessary and definitely excessive, however, Kurapika was thankful to have it. Even though the rent split between them weighed heavily in Kurapika's favour, this apartment was certainly on the nicer side of those in Yorknew.

So for now, he wouldn't mention anything about Pakunoda even if he was curious. The last thing he wanted was to give Kuroro another branch to poke him with.

"Not anyone who would give you any more trouble than those two would," Kuroro hummed.

Kurapika definitely didn't miss the small smile on his face, that aloof look that always seemed to be referencing another joke that no one else was in on. Kurapika had seen plenty enough of the smile to know that it didn't mean anything good.

Twirling a piece of meat on his fork he mentioned, "Machi called you 'boss'."

"Mhm," was all Kuroro responded with.

Kurapika clenched and unclenched his grip on the fork. He knew that Kuroro liked to run him in circles, never giving a straightforward answer unless Kurapika was willing to ask the right question.

"Does she work for you?" He asked.

"In a manner of speaking," he said in another warm hum.

He was definitely smiling into that mug, even if Kurapika couldn't quite see it. He could probably prod Kuroro all night and he wouldn't give an answer just for the sake of being a contrary bastard.

Fine then, Kurapika figured he'd give up on prodding him for answers. Hell, maybe Kuroro worked at a sunglass kiosk and didn't want to lose any of the supposed gravitas that he liked to hold himself up with.

An unlikely thought but an entertaining one for Kurapika.

"I'm turning in," Kurapika told him, even though it was still too early for Kuroro to believe that, "goodnight."

"Goodnight Kurapika," Kuroro said. "I hope my friends don't cause too much trouble for you next time."

And even though Kuroro's words sounded sincere to Kurapika, he couldn't help but feel like that man meant the complete opposite.


	2. Chapter Two

Kurapika loathed the sound of his morning alarm as much as anyone else did. However, even that sound was incomparable to the banging at the door that had woken him up.

He had tried to ignore it but whoever was at the door didn't give up even after five minutes of endless knocking. With no other choice, Kurapika was forced to answer the door.

"Where's the boss?" Was the first thing he heard when he opened the door.

"What?"

Once Kurapika blinked the sleep out of his eyes he could fully absorb the figure in front of him. The relaxed denim overalls he was wearing didn't match his obscene height at all, he looked much more suited for intensive labour somewhere on a farm as opposed to a busy city. It was impossible for Kurapika to describe him as anything other than a giant.

"Where is the boss?" The man repeated.

Kurapika blinked and crossed his arms, "I heard you. I meant 'what' as in 'do you know what time it is?"

"Yes."

"No, you don't," he corrected him, his voice soaked in tiredness. "Because if you did then you wouldn't be knocking at someone's door at three in the morning."

The man looked equally unimpressed as he stared down Kurapika. "Where is the boss," he asked again, "I need to talk to him."

"He's not here," Kurapika told him.

The man stared at him for another moment before he asked, "are you lying to me?"

"Am I? -" He cut himself off before he could shout. Kuroro's friends causing a mess he could live with but he didn't want to deal with them making a habit out of waking him up at three in the morning. "Look if he was here then your knocking would've woken him up."

"I need to talk to him," the man said.

Kurapika rubbed at his temple before he asked, "and what I am supposed to do about it? I don't know where he is."

"You live with him," he said as if that should have provided a solution.

"Do I look like Kuroro's secretary?" Kurapika snapped.

Apparently, the man decided to take that as a literal question because he paused before he began to say, "well-"

Kurapika immediately began to shut the door.

"Wait," the man interjected, his gigantic hand stopping Kurapika from shutting the door. "It's important, I need to see him now."

"Then call him or sit by the door until he comes back," he said, "his work problems aren't my problems."

But apparently, they were enough that this hulking man had come personally at three in the morning to find Kuroro. Even if Kurapika was curious about why he had done so, any of that curiosity was overshadowed by his want to go back to sleep.

"If the boss has a problem," the man told him, "then everyone has a problem."

Kurapika squinted at him, "what's your name?"

"Franklin."

"Okay Franklin," he said, "I don't know where he is or how to contact him. The best I can do is leave a note. If I do, will you stop knocking on the door?"

_ Just say yes, just say yes.  _ Kurapika wanted to say but his eyes remained firmly on Franklin.

"Very well."

Kurapika let his feet take him back towards the kitchen until he reached the draw where he knew the sticky notes were. It only took him a second to scribble 'Franklin - Urgent message' on the paper before he headed to Kuroro's room to stick the note on his doorknob.

"Note's on the door-" Kurapika called back to Franklin, however, when he glanced back at the open door, the man was nowhere to be seen.

Kurapika took a few more steps towards to door, wondering if he simply couldn't see him at the angle where he stood. However, as he looked down the hallway, Franklin was completely out of sight.

He'd left awfully quickly for a man who had knocked at the door likely until it bruised his knuckles considering how long it had taken Kurapika to answer.

Evidently, Kurapika figured, Kuroro had a monopoly on friendships with the weirdest people in the city.

-

Despite the loss of the sleep from the night before, the rest of his day went well enough. Kuroro still hadn't shown up and he didn't know if Franklin had been able to contact him in the end.

When it reached midday, Kurapika finally got a sign from him. When he heard the lock on the apartment door turn, he was ready to see Kuroro but after a few moments, the lock only continued to twist from side to side as if someone was having trouble opening it.

Instead of waiting for them to get it open, Kurapika unlocked the door from the inside and swung it open.

At first, Kurapika thought there was no one on the other side of the door. It wasn't until he shifted his vision downwards that he noticed the person standing there.

The boy standing there looked confused to see Kurapika for a moment before his expression turned plain.

"Is the boss here?" The boy asked him.

Kurapika just stared. He had thought that the man might have just been short but that was most certainly a kid judging from his voice. His face was a bit sharper than Kurapika had expected for someone that young but he was beginning to assume that he was barely a teenager.

"I need to feed the fish," the boy told him when Kurapika didn't say anything.

"How..." Kurapika trailed off for a moment. "How old are you exactly?"

The boy narrowed his eyes as if he was trying to look serious but it was impossible for Kurapika to take him seriously.

With a commanding tone, the boy said, "it's very important that I feed these fish."

"How do you know Kuroro?" Kurapika asked him.

He might have been Kuroro's younger brother, Kurapika guessed. They both had dark hair but the similarities stopped there. He couldn't match any of the boy's features to Kuroro's.

The boy's shoulders tensed up before he began to list off, "I have full permission to enter this apartment during the hours of one and three PM on Mondays. Now let me in."

"No," Kurapika told him, not believing it for a second.

The kid looked genuinely surprised that didn't work because his eyes went wide, a clear contrast from his attempt at authority a second ago.

"Let me in!" The boy ordered him, looking like he was about to start stomping his feet.

"Shouldn't you be in school?" Kurapika asked him genuinely.

"Sh-Shouldn't you be in a..." The boy struggled to come up with something to say. "Just let me in!"

Kurapika was about to shut the door when he heard a voice call out, "it's not very polite to leave someone out in the hall."

Kuroro didn't seem put off by the situation at all as he strolled from the elevator towards them. The boy in front of him immediately straightened back up before he flashed Kurapika a quick grin with a sort of 'oh now you're gonna get it' look.

"So you do know him?" Kurapika asked Kuroro.

"Of course," Kuroro said, "and I know that anyone in this temperature would prefer to be in a room with air conditioning."

Kurapika was still sceptical but he didn't argue when Kuroro slipped into the apartment and the younger boy trailed behind him.

"Can I get you a drink Kalluto?" Kuroro asked as he headed into the kitchen while the younger boy remained by the door.

"Yes please," the younger boy, Kalluto, said.

Kuroro fiddled with the liquor shelf above the fridge and for a moment Kurapika thought he was going to get the kid an actual drink. However, Kuroro glanced back at Kurapika with a small smile before his hand dropped down into the fridge to get the orange juice.

"Did you think I was really going to get him something from the top shelf?" Kuroro asked him.

Kurapika simply leaned back, ready to lie, "of course not."

But for almost a second he had. Now that he considered that he had almost believed that it seemed ridiculous.

"I wasn't expecting to see you skipping class," Kuroro said as he passed the cup over to Kalluto.

"I'm not skipping it," Kurapika told him, "it's being recorded and I can catch up later. Besides you're missing the same class right now."

Kuroro gave him that practised smile, "I'm sure I'll manage to get over it. How about I get started on that arduous journey while I put away my things."

Kurapika glanced back at Kalluto who was holding his cup in both hands while Kuroro headed back to his room. Kalluto gave a long and vocal sip from the cup before he set it down next to the fish tank.

"You're friends with my brother," Kalluto said.

Kurapika's eyes narrowed and he glanced towards Kuroro's room.

"Killua," Kalluto specified, noticing where Kurapika's gaze had turned.

"Oh," he realised, not exactly sure how to respond, "yes I've known Killua for a while."

Kalluto's nose twitched and his shoulders rose when he said, "I've known him for longer."

Kurapika thought that Kalluto was going to continue from there but instead the younger boy picked up the fish food and began to spoon it into the tank. He watched Kalluto do it with such care as if he was serving gourmet food, his face was fully focused, so much so that it was strange to watch.

When Kuroro came back into the room Kalluto asked, "has he been feeding the fish?"

"Yes, I have," Kurapika said, answering the question himself.

"On Mondays too?" Kalluto asked. "You're not supposed to double-feed them, it's not good for their health."

Kurapika tended to feed the fish at night and normally during this time he was on campus so he wasn't surprised that he hadn't run into Kalluto yet. Still, it felt strange that a kid had the keys to an apartment that he could get into at any time.

He also had never heard Killua mention Kalluto before. He didn't look much like Killua but he seemed to share some of his sharper features while he didn't look like Alluka at all.

"My mistake Kalluto, I forgot to explain the situation," Kuroro told him before turning towards to Kurapika. "Kalluto feeds the fish on Mondays since I'm usually occupied then."

Kalluto looked nervous when his eyes darted between them, "does this mean that I can keep feeding the fish on Mondays?"

"I don't see why not," Kuroro said, "that's not a problem is it Kurapika? It's only one less responsibility for you after all."

The situation felt strange to him but he didn't exactly have a reason to disagree.

So he simply agreed, "I guess not."

While Kalluto set the lid back onto the tank, Kuroro was already fishing out a few notes from his wallet, palming them into Kalluto's hand once he was done.

Kurapika tried his best not to stare at the money in Kalluto's small hand, certainly a sum which seemed inappropriate in comparison to the chore.

Kalluto didn't withdraw his hand, instead, he looked back up at Kuroro expectantly, "Ms Murasaki said you'd pay me back for walking her dog this week as well."

"Did she now?" Kuroro considered but he didn't seem particularly bothered as he thumbed through his wallet once again.

Kurapika watched as the sum of money Kalluto was holding on grew until it looked like he was struggling to fit it in his hand.

"Thank you Mr Lucilfer, Kurapika," Kalluto said and Kurapika didn't miss the way his name was tacked on at the end awkwardly. "I'll be here next week."

Kalluto gave a sort of half-bow before he promptly left the apartment, shoulders high and his walk much too formal for a child.

Not quite sure how to fill the quiet, Kurapika said, "seems like an interesting kid."

"An intuitive one," Kuroro said like he was correcting him and then added, "good at feeding fish too."

"So before I came along you would just leave the apartment unlocked for him to feed your fish?" Kurapika asked him incredulously.

"Of course not. That sounds like terrible security management" he said, almost sounding offended. "Kalluto has a key to the apartment."

For a moment, Kurapika almost thought that Kuroro was being sarcastic but his face was devoid of his familiar smugness. If he thought back, the lock to the door had been turning as if Kalluto was trying to get the key to turn.

"Right," Kurapika said, "because giving someone who's barely a teenager a key to a well-furnished apartment is a great idea."

"It is a great idea," Kuroro told him, "my fish get to live and Kalluto gets rid of my pocket change."

It definitely didn't look like pocket change but Kurapika wasn't eager to point that out.

"I was being sarcastic."

"I know," Kuroro hummed, "but it doesn't make you correct."

Kuroro's hand found its way towards the top shelf above the fridge and his thumb passed over a few bottles before he stopped by the wine bottles and pulled down a red.

"Can I get you a drink?" Kuroro asked him.

Kurapika glanced over at the clock, "it's two o'clock."

He raised an eyebrow, "and?"

Kurapika gave him a firm look but Kuroro still pulled two wine glasses from the cabinet and began to pour. It felt early but since Kuroro lived on a completely opposite schedule to Kurapika, he supposed that midday was 'late' for Kuroro.

"You're really not worried that one day you'll come back and half your apartment will be missing?" Kurapika asked him.

Handing him a glass, Kuroro told him, "Kalluto wouldn't steal from me. He's much too dependable. An unfortunate trait that runs in his family."

"The Zoldycks," he considered aloud, "I know one of the sons rather well."

"The eldest?"

Kurapika felt his lip curl at the reminder of the few interactions he'd had with Illumi, "opposite, youngest - or at least I had assumed that Killua was the youngest until I met Kalluto."

"The Zoldycks would likely prefer you kept that viewpoint," Kuroro said, voice frustratingly empty.

When he looked and sounded so blank, Kurapika knew that it was an invitation for him to dig deeper while Kuroro would dodge questions until he decided to throw him an answer.

So instead of indulging him, Kurapika asked, "why did you think it would be the eldest?"

"No reason in particular," he said, "I've met Illumi a few times now and wondered if you knew him as well."

A slight of dourness slipped into his tone and Kurapika absorbed as much information as he could. At the least, Kurapika could be grateful that they weren't close, he didn't exactly want to get used to Illumi coming by like the rest of Kuroro's friends.

Kurapika had only met Illumi a few times and each had been brief although they'd left a lasting impression. He remembered Killua's invasive curfews, trackers and hints of a family that he was eager to escape.

He'd met Illumi and Alluka, and the complaints he'd heard about Milluki could fill a book. Killua had painted a picture of his family that Kurapika had grown familiar with over the years. Somehow, he'd never included Kalluto in that image.

"Let me guess," Kurapika said, finally indulging a sip of the wine he had been handed, "Illumi mentions that his younger brother wants an allowance and you offer him fish feeding duty."

"Not quite," Kuroro said, "I found Kalluto knocking on doors around the apartment complex. Asking if he could walk dogs, take out the garbage, do their laundry."

That didn't exactly fit into Kurapika's image of how the kids of the Zoldyck family operated but he didn't exactly sound as if he was lying. Although at the same time, Kurapika doubted he could tell if Kuroro was lying.

"And you just gave him the keys to your apartment?" Kurapika asked doubtfully.

Kuroro simply shrugged and naturally said, "we've all been there."

Kurapika frowned into his drink, not quite sure how to respond to that. It seemed...Nice, although Kuroro had never especially struck him as nice. Even after he'd offered him a room at a more than fair price, Kurapika hadn't seen that geniality in any of the rest of his actions.

At least Kurapika knew that Kuroro got a kick out of being able to be the first person to annoy Kurapika when he woke up now that they lived together. He wasn't exactly sure what he got out paying Kalluto's allowance.

Even hearing that a Zoldyck needed an 'allowance' sounded ridiculous. That family needed more money as much as a fish needed a bicycle. Kurapika knew that even Killua and Alluka, who were essentially separated from the family, still had access to their funds.

"Thank you for passing on Franklin's request," Kuroro interrupted his thoughts.

It took a moment for Kurapika to place the name and when he did he couldn't help but wince, "it wasn't a request so much as poking me until I did something. I didn't think it was very helpful."

"It was still useful," Kuroro told him, "although, Franklin did tell me that he got the impression that you might have been a tad upset."

"Are your work hours usually that  _ flexible _ ?" Kurapika asked, his lip curling.

Kuroro dipped his glass back and forth in a so-so gesture, "I've found that business never truly sleeps. Although, I should apologise for ruining your beauty sleep."

"Beauty sleep, really?" He asked and didn't attempt to hide his scowl.

"Really and truly."

It was too hard to figure out the expression on Kuroro's face when he was sipping from his wine.

Kurapika took another sip himself before he spoke, "I understand that there are far worse places where I could be living and I can appreciate that you offered me a good deal.  _ However,  _ I still have the right to establish boundaries."

"And I should assume that my colleagues waking you up cross those boundaries," Kuroro finished for him.

He nodded firmly, "I don't want it to become a common occurrence."

"Alright then."

"I'm serious Kuroro-"

"So am I," Kuroro interrupted, "I promise that your beauty sleep will remain untarnished."

Kurapika knew that Kuroro was definitely smiling, trying to bait Kurapika into arguing him. Well, he didn't bite that easily.

"I'm not asking for much," Kurapika told him, "not all of us are vampires.

The corners of Kuroro's mouth tipped upwards, "I'm not sure that my irregular working hours should label me as a vampire."

"No," he began to say, "but then there's the nocturnal hours, the slicked back Dracula hair, the monochrome black outfits, the cross tattoo, the clothing covered in crosses-"

"If I recall the mythology correctly-" Kuroro said, leaving 'which of course I do' unspoken, "-aren't vampires aversive to crosses?"

"Then you're a masochist."

It was impossible to miss the practised grin on his face, "you've clearly put a lot of thought into this."

Realising what he was implying a moment later, Kurapika took a longer sip from his glass, trying to hide his chagrin.

"Oh shut up," Kurapika murmured into his wine, "it's not my fault you dress like you fell on a discount Halloween rack at a Party City."

Kuroro looked somewhat miffed by that and Kurapika noticed him tug at his own sleeve with a slight frown. Kurapika hid his own smile by sipping at his wine, noticing a moment later that his glass was empty.

"Then I suppose that would make this blood," Kuroro judged, looking down at his wine.

Kurapika rolled his eyes, "is this why you wanted a roommate? Couldn't stand being the only one to hear yourself talk?"

"Among other things," Kuroro told him simply enough.

"You mean feeding your fish and having someone to put up with your friends for you?" He said with a huff.

Kuroro simply laughed, "put up with my friends? And here I thought they had been nothing but a pleasure."

"As long as there isn't a repeat of the other night," Kurapika told him, "then there won't be a problem."

"Of course Kurapika," Kuroro said, "I'm sure there will be no problems from here on out."

When Kurapika frowned, this time there wasn't any wine left to hide his doubtful expression.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Kurapika can add   
> A) A 7-foot giant and  
> B) An eleven-year-old  
> to Kuroro's list of friends that he knows now.
> 
> I was planning on introducing Oito this chapter but then I remembered that I should start working on my Xmas one-shot for Kurokura and I wanted to put out what I had for this fic for another chapter. But at least that means I get to introduce her soon!
> 
> Also if you're reading this - I hope you have a wonderful day! :)

**Author's Note:**

> And they were roommates (oh my god they were roommates). 
> 
> I just really like the idea of the Phantom Troupe being incredibly annoying and strange friends that make Kurapika realise that Kuroro is more endearing than he is annoying.


End file.
